Prep Basketball : La Quinta Tournament : Estancia Hands El Modena Its First Loss

The list of undefeated high school basketball teams in Orange County has dwindled to five after only 2 weeks of play.

El Modena High School was the latest team to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing to Estancia, 73-61, Thursday night in the semifinals of the La Quinta tournament in Westminster.

Estancia is still perfect, with a 6-0 record, joining Savanna, Irvine, Fountain Valley and Ocean View as the only undefeated teams in the county.

Estancia made 10 consecutive free throws in the final 1 minute 23 seconds to hold off El Modena (6-1) and move to the championship game at 8 tonight against host La Quinta.

Guard Mike Curtis scored 30 points and teammate Augustin Heredia added 20 points for Estancia. Center Robbie Pietsch was the top scorer for El Modena with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Estancia utilized three scoring spurts to win. The Eagles fell behind, 8-0, in the first quarter and then rallied to score 18 consecutive points to take a 10-point lead at the end of the quarter.

Curtis scored 13 of his points in the opening quarter, sneaking inside El Modena’s defense for high-percentage shots or swishing long jump shots from the baseline.

Estancia opened the third quarter with a 9-2 spurt that pushed it ahead, 38-30, and El Modena never recovered.

Finally, Estancia made 11 of 12 free throws in the last quarter, including 10 in a row down the stretch after El Modena had moved to within 63-58 with 2:08 remaining to play.

Estancia compensated for its lack of height with hustle on both ends of the court. The Eagles pressured El Modena into 23 turnovers and repeatedly got second shots despite lacking a player taller than 6-feet 3-inches.

“This is a fun team to coach, but then that might be easy to say when you’re 6-0,” said Tim O’Brien, Estancia coach. “It’s a smart team with a lot of heart.

“We don’t have much depth, but there’s no reason to cry when you’re 6-0. This is a good, good high school team.”

El Modena figures to be a strong contender for the Century League title, but the Vanguards didn’t appear ready to join the top 10 teams in the county.

When El Modena managed to trim Estancia’s lead to five points in the final quarter, it self-destructed, committing two consecutive turnovers and then misfiring an airball.

El Modena was forced to foul Estancia in the final minutes, a move that backfired. Estancia came into the game with a 75% mark at the free-throw line and didn’t miss a shot there with the game on the line.

“I told the players at halftime that the team that could grab a lead and maintain a lead would win the game,” O’Brien said. “We won the game at the free-throw line.”

In the consolation semifinals:

Huntington Beach 68, Cypress 60--Forward Scott Drake scored 6 points during a 12-2 scoring spree in the third quarter that helped the Oilers gain control of a close game.

Huntington Beach trailed, 23-22, with seconds remaining in the first half when Joey Kijewski connected on a half-court shot at the buzzer to move the Oilers ahead, 25-23.

Huntington Beach (3-3) opened the second half with a full-court press and turned a 35-29 lead into a 47-31 lead in less than 2 minutes. Cypress fell to 1-6.